PANDORA - The First Woman of Greek Mythology Pandora Epimetheus and the birth of Pandora, Athenian red-figure amphora C5th B.C., Ashmolean Museum PANDORA was the first mortal woman who was formed out of clay by the gods. The Titan Prometheus was once assigned the task of creating the race of man. He afterwards grew displeased with the mean lot imposed on them by the gods and so stole fire from heaven. Zeus was angered and commanded Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and the other gods create the first woman Pandora, endowing her with beauty and cunning. He then had her delivered to Prometheus' foolish younger brother Epimetheus as a bride. Zeus gave Pandora a storage jar (pithos) as a wedding gift which she opened, releasing the swarm of evil spirits trapped within. These would forever after plague mankind. Only Elpis (Hope) remained behind, a single blessing to ease mankind's suffering. Pandora's daughter Pyrrha (Fire) was the first child born of a mortal mother. She and her husband Deukalion (Deucalion) were the sole survivors of the Great Deluge.

To repopulate the earth they were instructed to cast stones over their shoulder which formed a new race of men and women. The creation of Pandora was often depicted in ancient Greek vase painting. She appears as either a statue-like figure surrounded by gods, or as a woman rising out of the earth (called the anodos in Greek). Sometimes she is surrounded by dancing Satyroi (Satyrs) in a scene from a lost Satyr-play by Sophokles. FAMILY OF PANDORA PARENTS NONE (created by the gods) (Hesiod Works & Days 54, Hesiod Theogony 560, Aeschylus Frag 204, Sophocles Pandora, Pausanias 1.24.7, Hyginus Fabulae 142) OFFSPRING [1.1] PYRRHA (by Epimetheus ) (Apollodorus 1.46, Hyginus Fabulae 142) [1.2] PYRRHA (Strabo 9.5.23) ENCYCLOPEDIA PANDO′RA (Pandôra), i. e.

the giver of all, or endowed with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth. When Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven, Zeus in revenge caused Hephaestus to make a woman out of earth, who by her charms and beauty should bring misery upon the human race (Hes. Theog. 571, &c.; Stob. Serin. 1). Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, Hermes gave her boldness and cunning, and the gods called her Pandora, as each of the Olympians had given her some power by which she was to work the ruin of man. Hermes took her to Epimetheus, who forgot the advice of his brother Prometheus, not to accept any gift from Zeus, and from that moment all miseries came down upon men (Hes. Op. et Dies, 50, &c.). According to some mythographers, Epimetheus became by her the father of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Hygin. Fab. 142; Apollod. i. 7. § 2 ; Procl. ad Hes. Op. p. 30, ed. Heinsius; Ov. Met. i.

350); others make Pandora a daughter of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 23). Later writers speak of a vessel of Pandora, containing all the blessings of the gods, which would have been preserved for the human race, had not Pandora opened the vessel, so that the winged blessings escaped irrecoverably. The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena, in the Parthenon at Athens (Paus. i. 24. § 7). In the Orphic poems Pandora occurs as an infernal awful divinity, and is associated with Hecate and the Erinnyes (Orph. Argon. 974). Pandora also occurs as a surname of Gaea (Earth), as the giver of all. (Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 970; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. vi. 39; Hesych. s.v.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES The creation of Pandora, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., British Museum Hesiod, Works & Days 54 ff (trans.

Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : "The gods keep hidden from men the means of life [i.e. fire] . . . Zeus in the anger of his heart hid it, because Prometheus the crafty deceived him; therefore he planned sorrow and mischief against men. He hid fire; but that the noble son of Iapetos stole again for men from Zeus the counsellor in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who delights in thunder did not see it. But afterwards Zeus who gathers the clouds said to him in anger : ‘Son of Iapetos, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you have outwitted me and stolen fire--a great plague to you yourself and to men that shall be. But I will give men as the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own destruction.’ So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud.

And he bade famous Hephaistos (Hephaestus) make haste and mix earth with water and to put in it the voice and strength of human kind, and fashion a sweet, lovely maiden-shape, like to the immortal goddesses in face; and Athene (Athena) to teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web; and golden Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs. And he charged Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argos, to put in her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature. So he ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus the son of Kronos (Cronus). Forthwith [Hephaistos] the famous Lame God moulded clay in the likeness of a modest maid, as the son of Kronos purposed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded and clothed her, and the divine Kharites (Charites, Graces) and queenly Peitho (Persuasion) put necklaces of gold upon her, and the rich-haired Horai (Horae, Seasons) crowned her head with spring flowers.

And Pallas Athene bedecked her form with all manners of finery. Also [Hermes] the Guide, the Slayer of Argos, contrived within her lies and crafty words and a deceitful nature at the will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the gods put speech in her. And he called this woman Pandora (All-Gifts), because all they who dwelt on Olympos gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread. But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the Father sent glorious Argus-Slayer [Hermes], the swift messenger of the gods, to take it to Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did not think on what Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be something harmful to men. But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he understood.

For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills (kakoi) and hard toil (ponoi) and heavy sickness (nosoi) which bring the Keres (Fates) upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar (pithos) with her hands and scattered all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Elpis (Hope) remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aigis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues (lugra), wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases (nosoi) come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus." Hesiod, Theogony 510 ff (trans.

Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : "Scatter-brained Epimetheus who from the first was a mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he who first took of Zeus the woman [i.e. Pandora], the maiden whom he had formed." Hesiod, Theogony 560 ff : "[Zeus] was always mindful of the trick [of Prometheus, who had won for mankind the meat of the sacrificial beast,], and would not give the power of unwearying fire to the Melian race of mortal men who live on the earth. But [Prometheus] the noble son of Iapetos outwitted him and stole the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And Zeus who thunders on high was stung in spirit, and his dear heart was angered when he saw amongst men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping God [Hephaistos (Hephaestus)] formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden [i.e.

Pandora] as [Zeus] the son of Kronos (Cronus) willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene (Athena) girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands an embroidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of gold which [Hephaistos] the very famous Limping God made himself and worked with his own hands as a favor to Zeus his father. On it was much curious work, wonderful to see; for of the many creatures which the land and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, like living beings with voices : and great beauty shone out from it. But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the finery which the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father had given her, to the place where the other gods and men were.

And wonder took hold of the deathless gods and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer guile, not to be withstood by men. For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones whose nature is to do mischief--by day and throughout the day until the sun goes down the bees are busy and lay the white combs, while the drones stay at home in the covered hives and reap the toil of others into their own bellies--even so Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And he gave them a second evil to be the price for the good they had: whoever avoids marriage and the sorrows that women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old age without anyone to tend his years, and though he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives, yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them.

And as for the man who chooses the lot of marriage and takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil continually contends with good; for whoever happens to have mischievous children, lives always with unceasing grief in his spirit and heart within him; and this evil cannot be healed. So it is not possible to deceive or go beyond the will of Zeus: for not even the son of Iapetos, kindly Prometheus, escaped his heavy anger, but of necessity strong bands confined him, although he knew many a wile." The creation of Pandora, Athenian red-figure calyx krater C5th B.C., British Museum Homer, The Iliad 24. 527 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) : "There are two urns (pithoi) that stand on the door-sill of Zeus. They are unlike for the gifts they bestow: an urn of evils (kakoi), an urn of blessings (dôroi). If Zeus who delights in thunder mingles these and bestows them on man, he shifts, and moves now in evil, again in good fortune.

But when Zeus bestows from the urn of sorrows, he makes a failure of man, and hte evil hunger drives him over the shining earth, and he wanders resepected neither of gods nor mortals." [N.B. Later writers say that Zeus gave one of these two jars to Pandora. The poets were at odds as to which jar she received--Hesiod says it was the jar of evils (kakoi), but Theognis and Aesop claim it was the jar of blessings (dôroi). The name Pan-dôra ("all-gifts") perhaps suggests the latter.] Theognis, Fragment 1. 1135 (trans. Gerber, Vol. Greek Elegiac) (Greek elegy C6th B.C.) : "Elpis (Hope) is the only good god remaining among mankind; the others have left and gone to Olympos. Pistis (Trust), a mighty god has gone, Sophrosyne (Restraint) has gone from men, and the Kharites (Charites, Graces), my friend, have abandoned the earth.

Men's judicial oaths are no longer to be trusted, nor does anyone revere the immortal gods; the race of pious men has perished and men no longer recognize the rules of conduct or acts of piety." [N.B. Theognis' account is the reverse of Hesiod's--the good spirits escape from Pandora's jar, abandoning mankind in their flight back to heaven.] Aesop, Fables 526 (from Babrius 58) (trans. Gibbs) (Greek fable C6th B.C.) : "Zeus gathered all the useful things together in a jar and put a lid on it. He then left the jar in human hands. But man had no self-control and he wanted to know what was in that jar, so he pushed the lid aside, letting those things go back to the abode of the gods. So all the good things flew away, soaring high above the earth, and Elpis (Hope) was the only thing left. When the lid was put back on the jar, Elpis (Hope) was kept inside.

That is why Elpis (Hope) alone is still found among the people, promising that she will bestow on each of us the good things that have gone away." [N.B. "Human hands" alludes to the story of Pandora who delivered the jar to mankind. In this version, however, it is apparently her husband who opens it.] Aesop, Fables 525 (from Chambry 1) (trans. Gibbs) (Greek fable C6th B.C.) : "The Good Things were too weak to defend themselves from the Bad Things, so the Bad Things drove them off to heaven. The Good Things then asked Zeus how they could reach mankind. Zeus told them that they should not go together all at once, only one at a time. This is why people are constantly besieged by Bad Things, since they are nearby, while Good Things come more rarely, since they must descend to us from heaven one by one." [N.B. This fable describes the spirits which had escaped from Pandora's jar.

It also refers to the two jars set beside the throne of Zeus in the Iliad--one containing Good Things and the other Evils.] Epimetheus, Pandora and Eros (detail), Athenian red-figure amphora C5th B.C., Ashmolean Museum Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 250 ff (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) : "Prometheus : Yes, I caused mortals to cease foreseeing their doom (moros). Chorus : Of what sort was the cure that you found for this affliction? Prometheus : I caused blind hopes (elpides) to dwell within their breasts. Chorus : A great benefit was this you gave to mortals." [N.B. This is presumably a reference to Pandora's jar--a curse concocted by Zeus to punish mankind for the theft of fire.

Prometheus seems to be saying that he was the one who stayed Hope inside the jar when all the other spirits escaped.] Aeschylus, Fragment 204 (from Proclus, Commentary on Hesiod's Works and Days 156) : "A mortal woman from out a seed moulded of clay [i.e Pandora]." Sophocles, Pandora (lost play) (C5th B.C.) : Sophocles wrote a Satyr-play entitled Pandora or Sphyrocopi which dramatised the story of the first woman. Plato, Protagoras 320c - 322a (trans. Lamb) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) : "Prometheus stole the mechanical arts of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and Athene (Athena), and fire with them (they could neither have been acquired nor used without fire), and gave them to man . . . But Prometheus is said to have been afterwards prosecuted for theft, owing to the blunder of Epimetheus [i.e. because he accepted Pandora from Zeus]." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 46 (trans.

Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Prometheus had a son Deukalion (Deucalion), who was king of the lands round Phthia and was married to Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, the first woman created by the gods." Euphorion of Chalcis, Fragments (trans. Page, Vol. Select Papyri III, No. 121 (2b)) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) : "Pandora, donor of evil (kakodôros), man's sorrow self-imposed." Strabo, Geography 9. 5. 23 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "[The region of] Thessalia (Thessaly). But speaking of it as a whole, I may say that in earlier times it was called Pyrrhaia (Pyrrhaea), after Pyrrha the wife of Deukalion (Deucalion) . . . But some writers, dividing it into two parts, say that Deukalion obtained the portion towards the south and called it Pandora after his mother [i.e.

his mother-in-law], and that the other part fell to Haimon (Haemon), after whom it was called Haimonia (Haemonia), but that the former name was changed to Hellas, after Hellen the son of Deukalion, and the latter to Thessalia, after the son of Haimon." [N.B. Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora and wife of Deukalion. Deukalion named various parts of Thessalia after his wife and mother-in-law.] Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 24. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "On the pedestal [of the statue of Athena on the Akropolis in Athens] is the birth of Pandora in relief. Hesiod and others have sung how this Pandora was the first woman; before Pandora was born there was as yet no womankind." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 142 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Prometheus, son of Iapetus, first fashioned men from clay.

Later Vulcanus [Hephaistos], at Jove's [Zeus'] command, made a woman's form from clay. Minerva [Athene] gave it life, and the rest of the gods each gave come other gift. Because of this they named her Pandora. She was given in marriage to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. Pyrrha was her daughter, and was said to be the first mortal born." Nonnus, Dionysiaca 7. 7 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : "[Aion (Time) addresses Zeus :] ‘But, some may say, a medicine [Hope] has been planted to make long-suffering mortals forget their troubles, to save their lives. Would that Pandora had never opened the heavenly cover of that jar--she the sweet bane of mankind!’" ANCIENT GREEK ART The Meaning of Pandora's Box - Zeus's Curse on Mankind By N.S. Gill Updated October 28, 2016. A "Pandora's box" is a metaphor in our modern languages, and the proverbial phrase refers to a source of endless complications or trouble arising from a single, simple miscalculation.

Pandora's story comes to us from ancient Greek mythology , specifically a set of epic poems by Hesiod , called the Theogony and Works and Days. Written during the 7th century BC, these poems relate how the gods came to create Pandora and how a gift given to her by Zeus ultimately ends the Golden Age of humankind. The Story of Pandora's Box According to Hesiod, Pandora was a curse on mankind, as retribution after the titan Prometheus stole fire and gave it to humans. Zeus had Hermes hammer the first human woman--Pandora--out of the earth. Hermes made her lovely as a goddess, with the gift of speech to tell lies, and the mind and nature of a treacherous dog. Athena dressed her in silvery clothing and taught her weaving; Hephaestus crowned her with a marvelous golden diadem of animals and sea creatures; Aphrodite poured grace on her head and desire and cares to weaken her limbs.

continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States Pandora was to be the first of a race of women, the first bride and a great misery who would live with mortal men as companions only in times of plenty, and desert them when times became difficult. Her name means both "she who gives all gifts" and "she who was given all gifts". Never let it be said that Greeks had any use for women in general. All the Ills of the World Then Zeus sent this beautiful treachery as a gift to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus , who ignored Prometheus's advice to never accept gifts from Zeus. In the house of Epimetheus, there was a jar--in some versions it too was a gift from Zeus--and because of her insatiable greedy woman's curiosity, Pandora lifted the lid on it. Out from the jar flew every trouble known to humanity. Strife, sickness, toil, and myriad other ills escaped from the jar to afflict men and women forever more. Pandora managed to keep one spirit in the jar as she shut the lid, a timid sprite named Elpis, usually translated as "hope." Box, Casket or Jar?

But our modern phrase says "Pandora's box": how did that happen? Hesiod said the evils of the world were kept in a "pithos", and that was uniformly employed by all Greek writers in telling the myth until the 16th century AD. Pithoi are huge storage jars that are typically partly buried in the ground. The first reference to something other than a pithos comes from the 16th-century writer Lilius Giraldus of Ferrara, who in 1580 used the word pyxis (or casket) to refer to the holder of evils opened by Pandora. Although the translation was not exact, it is a meaningful error, because a pyxis is a 'whited sepulchre', a beautiful fraud. Eventually, the casket became simplified as "box". Harrison (1900) argued that this mistranslation explicitly removed the Pandora myth from its association with All Souls Day , or rather the Athenian version, the festival of Anthesteria .

The two-day drinking festival involves opening wine casks on the first day (the Pithoigia), releasing the souls of the dead; on the second day, men anointed their doors with pitch and chewed blackthorn to keep the newly released souls of the departed away. Then the casks were sealed again. Harrison's argument is bolstered by the fact that Pandora is a cult name of the great goddess Gaia . Pandora is not just any willful creature, she is the personification of earth itself; both Kore and Persephone, made from the earth and rising from the underworld. The pithos connects her to the earth, the box or casket minimizes her importance. The Meaning of the Myth Hurwit (1995) says that the myth explains why humans must work to survive, that Pandora represents the beautiful figure of dread, something for which men can find no device or remedy. The quintessential woman was created to beguile men with her beauty and uncontrollable sexuality, to introduce falsehood and treachery and disobedience into their lives. Her task was to let loose all the evils on the world, while trapping hope, unavailable to mortal men.

Pandora is a trick gift, a punishment for the good of Promethean fire, she is, in fact, Zeus's price of fire. Brown points out that Hesiod's story of Pandora is the icon of archaic Greek ideas of sexuality and economics. Hesiod didn't invent Pandora, but he did adapt the story to show that Zeus was the supreme being who shaped the world and caused the misery of the human lot, and how that caused human descent from the original bliss of a carefree existence. Pandora and Eve At this point, you may recognize in Pandora the story of the Biblical Eve . She too was the first woman, and she too was responsible for destroying an innocent, all-male Paradise and unleashing suffering ever after. Are the two related? Several scholars including Brown and Kirk argue that the Theogony was based on Mesopotamian tales, although blaming a woman for all the evils of the world is definitely more Greek than Mesopotamian. Both Pandora and Eve may well share a similar source.

Sources Pandora Pandora The creation of Pandora; interior of a Cylix (470/ 460 B.C.) In Greek mythology, Pandora (Πανδώρα)("all gifted") was the first woman, fashioned by Zeus as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus ' theft of the secret of fire. Hesiod , in his Works and Days, ca. 700 BC, has a very early version of the Pandora story. [ 1 ] Creation of Pandora: Zeus, Hermes, Epimetheus and Pandora The legend The titan Epimetheus ("hindsight") was responsible for giving a positive trait to each and every animal. However, when it was time to give man a positive trait, there was nothing left. Prometheus ("foresight"), his brother, felt that because man was superior to all other animals, man should have a gift no other animal possessed. So Prometheus set forth to steal fire from Zeus and handed it over to man. Zeus was enraged and decided to punish Prometheus and his creation: mankind. To punish Prometheus, Zeus chained him in unbreakable fetters and set an eagle over him to eat his liver each day, as the eagle is Zeus' sacred animal.

Prometheus was an immortal, so the liver grew back every day, but he was still tormented daily from the pain, until he was freed by Heracles during The Twelve Labours. To punish mankind, Zeus ordered the other gods to make Pandora as a poisoned gift for man. Pandora was given several traits from the different gods: Hephaestus molded her out of clay and gave her form; Athena clothed her and adorned her with necklaces made by Hephaestus as well as taught her manual dexterity and how to spin; Aphrodite gave her beauty; Apollo gave her musical talent and a gift for healing; Demeter taught her to tend a garden; Poseidon gave her a pearl necklace and the ability to never drown; Zeus made her idle, mischievous, and foolish; Hera gave her curiosity; Hermes, along with giving her cunning, boldness and charm, then gave Pandora a box. The name Pandora, thus, derives from the fact she's received gifts from all deities: "all gifts". Pandora Vase Before he was chained to the rock, Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to take any gifts from the gods.

Epimetheus did not listen to his brother, however, and when Pandora arrived, he fell in love with her. Hermes told him that Pandora was a gift to the titan from Zeus, and he warned Epimetheus to not open the box, which was Pandora's dowry. Until then, mankind had lived a life in a paradise without worry. Epimetheus told Pandora never to open the box she had received from Zeus. However, one day, Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she opened it, releasing all the misfortunes of mankind (plague, sorrow, poverty, crime, etc.). Once opened, she shut it in time to keep one thing in the box: hope 1. The world remained extremely bleak for an unspecified interval, until Pandora "chanced" to revisit the box again, at which point Hope fluttered out. Thus, mankind always has hope in times of evil, but Hope has a great deal of catching up to do. (See also Garden of Eden.) The daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora was Pyrrha , who married Deucalion and was one of the two who survived the deluge.

Epimetheus and Pandora, El Greco Commentary The story of Pandora's Box can be interpreted in more than one way, but one obvious moral is that of "curiosity killed the cat". Some scholars 2 contend that Pandora's "box" may have been a mistranslation, and her "box" may have been a large jar or vase, forged from the earth. In fact, there is evidence 3 that suggests Pandora herself was the jar. In Ancient Greece jars commonly bore images of women. The jar was said 4 to have been in a jar form because of the similarites between a jar and a woman's uterus. The mistranslation is usually attributed to the 16th Century Humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora. Hesiod uses the word "pithos" which refers to a jar used to store grain. It is possible that Erasmus confused "pithos" with "pyxis" which means box. The scholar M.L. West, has written that Erasmus may have mixed up the story of Pandora with the story found elsewhere of a box which was opened by Psyche.

5 Hope 6 is considered an evil in this story because according to Hesiod it implies the control of the future, and since no one can control the future, to have hope is to be deluded. Other people think that Hope being left in the box symbolizes Hope often being humanity's only comfort. The original Greek text from 700 BC of Hesiod's Works and Days, whence we get the earliest extant story of Pandora and the box, which is really a "jar", does not specify exactly what was in the box Pandora opened. 7 The scholar M.L. West has written that the story of Pandora and her jar is derived from a pre-Hesiodic story or legend and this is what causes the confusion and problems with Hesiod's version and its inconclusiveness. He writes that in earlier legends, Pandora was married to Prometheus, and cites the ancient Catalogue of Women as preserving this older tradition, and that the jar may have at one point contained only good things for mankind. There is also a question as to what was Hope, which is good for mankind, doing in a jar full of evils for mankind. Hence the earlier stories come into play.

He also writes that it may have been that Epimetheus and Pandora and their roles were transposed in the pre-Hesiodic stories and legends. He remarks that there is a curious correlation between Pandora being made out of earth in Hesiod's story, to what is in Apollodorus that Prometheus created man from water and earth. ( Apollodorus , Library and Epitome, ed. Sir James George Frazer.[ 2 ] ) 8 Martin P. Nilsson writes that the part about Hope being left in the box was likely added later: a sequel to the original legend. 9 The tale of Pandora's Box also shows how Early Greeks imagined woman to be created by the Gods as evil on the inside and beautiful on the outside in order to make men miserable. In this way, the tale has, on some superficial levels, similiarities with many Judeo-Christian stories. Various feminist scholars believe that in an earlier set of myths, Pandora was the Great Goddess, provider of the gifts that made life and culture possible, and that Hesiod's tale can be seen as part of a propaganda campaign to demote her from her previously revered status.

For an alternate view of Pandora, see Charlene Spretnak's Lost Goddesses of Early Greece; A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Mythology, 1978. For an alternate view of goddesses in general, and stories such as those of Eve and Pandora regarding women and evil, see Merlin Stone's When God Was a Woman. Cultural allusions to Pandora and her box A play by Frank Wedekind, Die Büchse der Pandora in the original German; A film based on the Wedekind play directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Louise Brooks -- see Pandora's Box (film); A song in 2003 by Louise, "Pandora's Kiss". The lyrics refer to Pandora and the music video features Louise inside a box. Paul Auster's 1998 movie called Lulu on the Bridge; A video game designed by Alexey Pajitnov, the co-developer of Tetris A video game called Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow features a storyline in which a terrorist leader prevents smallpox being released into the U.S.

(alluding to not opening Pandora's Box) by calling the people in charge of keeping the containers, who are in the U.S., and saying the phrase "Pandora Tomorrow" as a life insurance policy for himself (i.e. If he is killed, then he cannot call, and smallpox will be released); In the video game God of War, Pandora's Box is the only weapon capable of killing a god; the main character, Kratos, opens the box and is made large enough to do battle with Ares.

The story of Pandora's box has been told on an episode of the PBS children's TV show Between the Lions; The Box appeared in the Charmed episode Little Box of Horrors; One of the many phreak boxes is the possibly-fictional Pandora Box, which produces an extremely painful sound on the receiving telephone Pandora's Box was a key element in the second Tomb Raider movie, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life; Pandora's Box is the title of singer, Alberto's sophomore album; Pandora's Box is a commercial BDSM establishment in New York City that was the setting for Nick Broomfield's documentary Fetishes; An album with the name "Pandora's Box", created by the band Aerosmith; See Pandora's Box (album); Pandora's Box is central to the plot of a novel by Gene Wolfe: "Pandora by Holly Hollander"; Adam Curtis' Pandora's Box documentary film; Tori Amos has a song called "Pandora's Aquarium" on her album From The Choirgirl Hotel which also references Persephone; On the television sitcom Bewitched, Samantha Stephens's lookalike cousin Serena is credited as "Pandora Spocks", a play on "Pandora's Box." (The name is

 a pseudonym for Elizabeth Montgomery, who played both Serena and Samantha.) The Music Genome Project's music discovery service has taken Pandora's name; The first movie in Steven Chow's A Chinese Odyssey films is subtitled Pandora's Box, referring to a box in the film which can transport people back into time, but is not related to the Greek myth in any way; In Lost (TV series), Locke is asked what he hopes to find in the hatch, and answers Hope.

In the book "Pandora's Planet" by Christopher Anvil, Earth is conquered by dimwitted aliens who then get taken advantage of by the much smarter humans ("Want to trade that spaceship for some lovely swampland in Florida?") In the video game House of the Dead 4, the Pandora's Box project unleashes a horde of zombies and attempts to activate a network of nuclear missiles. According to the plot of the game, the last and most powerful one among them had to be defeated for humanity to prove itself worthy of survival. Pandora is the name of the UK Independent newspaper's diary column, known to be a 'box' of delights. Pandora and Pandora's Box play a major role in the anime and manga series Violinist of Hamelin. Bounty mutineers and loyal crew alike, were imprisoned in a makeshift cell on HMS Pandora's deck, which they derisively called Pandora's Box. In the Crimson Skies universe, the home airship of Nathan Zachary's "Fortune Hunters" pirate gang is named Pandora in direct allusion to the legend.

Zachary makes it deliberately ambiguous as to whether his Pandora is a wellspring of all the world's mischief, or the last bastion of Hope. El Pozo de Pandora, a book written by an Uruguayan author, Enrique Ortega Salinas, in 2002, in which corruption and crime in the government is revealed. Pandora's Box is the first in a trilogy of Fantastical adventures having some roots to mythology but an absolutely different timeline, called Land of Illusions. Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a video game made in 1993 for the SNES, allows the player to use Pandora's Boxes as weapons. They act as smart bombs, releasing magical sparks that fly around and kill all enemies on-screen. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles features an ancient vampire named Pandora. One book in the series, entitled Pandora: New Tales of the Vampires, is dedicated exclusively to her story. Final Fantasy 6, a video game made in 1994 for the SNES, features an enemy by the name of Pandora's Box. In Age of Mythology, "PANDORAS BOX" is a cheat code which will give you four random god powers. Notes 1 C.H.

Moore, p.37: the word for "hope" in Greek, Ελπις, "elpis", and its context in Hesiod's Works and Days, line 96, Moore claims is better translated as "anticipation of misfortune" rather than simply "hope". It is presumed that Moore is saying that mankind could avert some misfortunes by anticipating them with what was left on the rim of Pandora's jar. Some Greek lexicons yield some support to Moore's observation. Moore's exact words on the subject, on page 37, are: "She [Pandora] opened a jar containing every kind of evil, which straightaway flew out among mankind. Only Ελπις [elpis] remained therein --- a word hardly equivalent to our Hope, but rather meaning 'anticipation of misfortune'. It is then the only plague to which man is not subjected. He is obliged to suffer, having been involved in the original sin of Prometheus, who wished to cheat Zeus of the sacrifice due him. Such is the sacred tale offered as an explanation of the presence of evils on earth". M.L.

West also has an exposition and commentary on the word used, on p.169 of his Works & Days / Hesiod, edited with prolegomena and commentary. Pietro Pucci, in his Hesiod and the Language of Poetry, also addresses the full meaning of Ελπις, p.124, ff.51 and says "Ελπις properly means a larger set of expectations than our 'hope', for it implies hope, expectation, and even fear as in Homer's Iliad 13:309, 17:23, etc." Pucci goes on to write on p.104, that Hope was not always considered simply good for mankind, citing Works and Days by Hesiod, line 498 [500], "Hope [Ελπις] is a bad companion for the man in need who sits in an idle place, when he has no sufficient livelihood". 2 Hesiod, Works and Days, translation of the word as jar, not box.

The word in the Greek text is πιθου ("pithou", from the base "pithos") which describes "a very large jar, usually made of rough-grained terra cotta, used for storage".[ 3 ] [ 4 ] The classics scholar, M.L. West, writes about this issue on p.168, in his translation and commentary on Hesiod's Works and Days, confirming it was a jar, and not a box, and the many implications of that. For example, it was likely a jar as large physically, if not larger than a person. Cf. the original text of Hesiod, lines 90, 95. "[90] For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sicknesses which bring the Fates upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands [95] and scattered, all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men.

Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. [100] But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils, and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them". [ 5 ] 3 Padraic Colum, Orpheus, Myths of the World, p.71, 1930. "The jar, like Pandora herself, had been made and filled out of the ill-will of Zeus. And it had been filled, not with salves and charms and washes, as the women thought, but with Cares and Troubles." [ 6 ] This should be viewed with scholarly skepticism as it is an extrapolation to see Pandora being the vessel herself. 4 Sujoy Deyasi, Uniphase: A Solution to Albert Einstein's the Unified Field Theory, 2003.

"In the story of Pandora the box is representing a woman's womb (the uterus, the vessel in which a new life arrives in this world), and opening of it either by Pandora or by her husband god Epimetheus is referring to our conscious knowledge that we can have sex anytime. What came out of the box is human emotion." [ 7 ] This claim should be viewed with scholarly skepticism as it is far from the mainstream. It is only included here to fulfill a prior citation. 5 cf. M.L. West, Works & Days, p.168 6 cf. note 1. 7 cf. M.L. West, Works & Days, p.168. "Hesiod omits to say where the jar came from, and what Pandora had in mind when she opened it, and what exactly it contained". West goes on to say this contributes to the "inconclusive Pandora legend". 8 cf. M.L. West, Works & Days, p.164. 9 cf. Martin P. Nilsson, History of Greek Religion, p.184.

* Pandora , Kirk Richards (1952-) 2002 References Text only version of Pandora's Box Pandora's Box Text only version Has your curiosity ever got you into trouble? Have you ever been so desperate to know a secret that you took no notice of a warning? All through history there are stories of people being told not to open doors, caskets, cupboards, gates and all sorts of other things and, in so many of the stories, the people just did not listen. One person who did not listen was Pandora. Her story comes from Ancient Greece and her curiosity brought a whole heap of trouble! In ancient Greece there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They upset the gods and annoyed the most powerful of all Gods, Zeus, in particular. This was not the first time humans had upset Zeus, and once before, as punishment, he had taken from humans the ability to make fire. This meant they could no longer cook their meat and could not keep themselves warm. However, Prometheus was clever and he knew that, on the Isle of Lemnos, lived Hephaestos, the blacksmith. He had a fire burning to keep his forge hot. Prometheus travelled to Lemnos and stole fire from the blacksmith.

Zeus was furious and decided that humans had to be punished once and for all for their lack of respect. Zeus came up with a very cunning plan to punish the two brothers. With the help of Hephaestos, he created a woman from clay. The goddess Athene then breathed life into the clay, Aphrodite made her very beautiful and Hermes taught her how to be both charming and deceitful. Zeus called her Pandora and sent her as a gift to Epimetheus. His brother Prometheus had warned him not to accept any gifts from the gods but Epimetheus was completely charmed by the woman and thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could never cause any harm, so he agreed to marry her. Zeus, pleased that his trap was working, gave Pandora a wedding gift of a beautiful box. There was one very, very important condition however, that she must never opened the box. Pandora was very curious about the contents of the box but she had promised that she would never open it. All she could think about was; what could be in the box? She could not understand why someone would send her a box if she could not see what was in it.

It seemed to make no sense at all to her and she could think of nothing else but of opening the box and unlocking its secrets. This was just what Zeus had planned. Finally, Pandora could stand it no longer. When she knew Epimetheus was out of sight, she crept up to the box, took the huge key off the high shelf, fitted it carefully into the lock and turned it. But, at the last moment, she felt a pang of guilt, imagined how angry her husband would be and quickly locked the box again without opening the lid and put the key back where she had found it. Three more times she did this until, at last, she knew she had to look inside or she would go completely mad! She took the key, slid it into the lock and turned it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly lifted the lid of the box. She opened her eyes and looked into the box, expecting to see fine silks, gowns or gold bracelets and necklaces or even piles of gold coins. But there was no gleam of gold or treasure. There were no shining bracelets and not one beautiful dress! The look of excitement on her face quickly turned to one of disappointment and then horror.

For Zeus had packed the box full of all the terrible evils he could think of. Out of the box poured disease and poverty. Out came misery, out came death, out came sadness - all shaped like tiny buzzing moths. The creatures stung Pandora over and over again and she slammed the lid shut. Epimetheus ran into the room to see why she was crying in pain. Pandora could still hear a voice calling to her from the box, pleading with her to be let out. Epimetheus agreed that nothing inside the box could be worse than the horrors that had already been released, so they opened the lid once more. All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful dragonfly, touching the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora had released pain and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed Hope to follow them. Myth of Pandora, the first woman on Earth - Greeka.com Discover the myth of Pandora, the first woman The creation of Pandora All started from a gathering of the gods, where the Titans were also invited. The gathering had been organized to decide who would be favored with the better portion of a sacrifice.

Prometheus, the Titan who later stole the fire from the Gods and gave it to humanity, had deviously presented the sacrifice in such a manner that Zeus chose the portion that looked more appealing when in fact it was just bones presented in a tempting manner. Outraged at this mockery, Zeus decided to take revenge and get even with Prometheus. Zeus charged Hephaestus, the god of smiths and master of crafts, with creating a dazzlingly beautiful woman, one that would appear irresistible to either god or man. To accomplish this feat Aphrodite, the goddess of love, posed as a model for the creation of the statue. The woman was molded of earth and water and once the body was ready, the Four Winds breathed life into it. She was then given gifts from all the Olympian gods. Aphrodite gave to her unparalleled beauty, grace and desire. Hermes, the messenger god, gave her a cunning, deceitful mind and a crafty tongue. Athena clothed her and taught her to be deft with her hands. Poseidon bestowed on her a pearl necklace that would prevent her from drowning. Apollo taught her to play the lyre and to sing.

Zeus gave her a foolish, mischievous and idle nature and last but not least, Hera gave her the wiliest gift, curiosity. Thus, the first mortal woman was born and she descended down to earth. Her name was Pandora, meaning all-gifted, implying all the gifts she had received from gods. Along with her, Hermes gave a gilded and intricately carved box, a gift from Zeus with an explicit warning that she must never open it, come what may. Draped in raiment fit for the gods, she was presented to Epimetheus, Prometheus' half-brother. Opening the box Epimetheus had been told by his brother never to accept any gift from Zeus. Prometheus was well aware that Zeus was still angry with him for his effrontery at the gathering and would try to get his revenge. However, one look at Pandora was all it took for Epimetheus to fall in crazy love with her and marry her without thought or consideration. He was truly enchanted with her. To congratulate them, Hermes came to the wedding ceremony and told Epimetheus that Pandora was a gift from Zeus, a peace-offer signifying that there were no more ill feelings between the chief of the gods and Prometheus.

He also told Epimetheus that the gilded box of Pandora was a wedding gift from the Olympian King. Being a bit credulous, Epimetheus believed the words of Hermes to be true. Unfortunately, Prometheus' advice had fallen on deaf ears. The days were passing quickly and the two were leading a happy, married life but one thought was still at the back of Pandora's mind: what was in the box that Zeus had given her? She kept thinking that maybe the box had money in it, nice clothes or even jewelry. Without thought or reason, she would find herself walking past the box and involuntarily reaching out to open it. Every time, she was reminding herself that she had vowed never to open the box. Hera's gift of curiosity had worked and one day, unable to take it any more, she decided to have just a brief look inside. When nobody was around, she fitted a golden key hanging around her neck to the lock on the box. Turning the key slowly, she unlocked the box and lifted the lid only for a while. Before she knew it, there was a hissing sound and a horrible odor permeated the air around her. Terrified, she slammed the lid down but it was too late.

Pandora had released all the wickedness and malevolence that Zeus had locked into the box. That time, she understood that she was a mere pawn in a great game played by the gods. In that gilded box, Zeus had hidden all everything that would plague man forever: sickness, death, turmoil, strife, jealousy, hatred, famine, passion... everywhere the evil spread. Pandora felt the weight of the world on her shoulders and looked at the gilded box that had turned rusty and hideous. As if sensing her need, a warm and calming feeling shrouded her and she knew that not all was lost. Unknown to her, along with the evil feelings, she had also revealed hope, the only good thing that Zeus had trapped inside the box. From now on, hole would live with man forever, to give him succor just when he felt that everything was coming to an end. Pandora's Box The modern phrase "Pandora's Box" derives from this myth. It is used to say that a certain action provoked many evils, just like Pandora's action to open the box released all the evils of humanity. However, despite these evils, we humans still have hope to encourage us.

This phrase was produced by the Dutch humanist and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam in the 16th century, when he translated the poem of Hesiod. Pandora and Eve In this myth, we can observe some similarities with the Christian story of Adam and Eve. Just like Pandora in ancient Greece, Eve was known as the first woman on earth in Hebrew history. Even the creation of the two women is similar: Pandora was made of earth and water and Eve from the rib of Adam, the first man on earth, who was in his turn made of slay. Another similarity is that they both disobeyed god: Pandora opened the box and unleashed evil in the world and Eve tempted Adam to eat the forbidden apple, against God's will. Some accounts maintain that Pandora tempted Epimetheus into opening the box. However, both women brought ruin and misfortune upon men who had so far lived in a paradisiacal world, free from all sins. Pandora and Eve are considered as the progenitors of the human race and because of their curiosity, the world is cursed today. Interestingly, Pandora was created with vicious intentions but not so Eve, who was simply created to be Adam's companion.

The treachery lay in the role of Hermes and the Snake respectively. In Pandora, Hermes instilled that she must never open the box and had Hera not gifted her curiosity, it may have remained closed forever. In the Garden of Eden, the Snake tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and Life, bringing about realization and shame. From these two stories, we can imply that women have forever been seen as perpetrators of all that is deceitful and therefore women are to blame for every evil on this world. Share it!

Question: According to Greek mythology, what was the only virtue that remained in Pandora's Box after she opened it?
Answer: Hope